I love this story. I thought it would be a good opening because it has such a great rhythm to it. To me, it's got a musical quality to it, if that makes sense. It's a great story, but the flow of the words is so catchy.

It was tough. I liked it outright, but couldn't decide if it was right for us so I sat on the fence. Then Merc would praise it and then I'd be all gung-ho again. Then she'd be unsure. Then Ken would be touting it and then we'd all get hestiant. We eventually decided it must fucking rock to make us this antsy about it.

I don't remember Nick's feelings, but in the end, it won us all over. And THAT is hard to do.

Man, I didn't like this at first. Then I loved it. Then I disliked it again. Then I loved it. It's so rapid fire, you know? So flippant, so different in style that it's almost offensive. But by the end, I fucking loved it.

I think I said something similar to Tim when we finally accepted it. I still believe it, too. And like I said above, there's a musical quality to this one. It's totally punk rock.

Tim's story reminds me of a dystopian version of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, with Ed K. as Dean Moriarty and the admiring narrator as Sal Paradise. It definitely has a Kerouac flavor to it, what with the jazz, the girl, and the odd characters of the church... all accessible from the road and promising kicks of various sorts.

I finished this story last night, and was just coming in to say almost this exact thing. It's not horror in the traditional (or even non-traditional) sense, but the sense of dread you feel throughout the whole thing is palpable. I finished reading it and felt like I needed to go take a shower. It wasn't perfect, but any story that can draw that kind of reaction from me is a success in my book.

I hesitate to respond because it's a story and everyone's taste is different and if you don't like it, you don't like it. But I'm not dumping on religion or the meaning of life in the story. I am using the hellfire and brimstone style of sermon for the ending in the same way that I'm using the Kerouac On the Road hipster speak at the beginning.

And Ed K. does do some pretty horrible things in the story for the simple fact that people find him so enthralling that they are eager to listen to him. Even the narrator is lying on his behalf throughout the book.

Regardless, I'm actually very happy that I managed to resist my main impulse which was to make the story about a couple of guys who kill a hitchhiker.

Interesting little story. Sometimes odd-ball and/or slow-burners work for me (The Road) and sometimes they just irritate me because they never get anywhere. This story works for me, I think, because it's a short story. It had that odd-ball slow-burner feel, but "got it over with" so to speak.

Ed K. seems like a very interesting character, and I wouldn't mind seeing more from him.